Houston’s Offshore Technology Conference offers a good litmus test for the outlook of the U.S. oil and gas industry. Last year’s event — fueled by a strong economy — boasted high attendance and high spirits. But the 2009 conference was noticeably different. The attendance followed the economy, taking a sharp downward turn, and as the Houston Chronicle reported earlier this week, “the heady mood is mostly gone as the industry grapples with uncertainty on many economic and policy fronts.”

Though the economy is expected to eventually recover, uncertainties on the political front are much harder to predict.

Sources on and off Capitol Hill expect the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to mark up its major energy bill the week of May 18 in order to require a major new assessment of offshore energy resources that would encompass oil and gas provisions. Despite this expected progress, many members of Congress are still lobbying for national attacks on “Big Oil.”

Related Stories

My father, Donald D. Whitefield, broke new ground in the manufacturing industry when he founded Whitefield Plastics more than 47 years ago. His wife’s pots and pans served as his first molds, and his first oven was nothing more than an old refrigerator he converted. Hand-me-down cookware — that’s how Don became the first exclusive producer of castable polyurethane molding in Texas.

Today, I’m honored to fill my father’s shoes, running a family-owned company that now serves a host of national and international oil field, pipeline and industrial clients. However, the latest round of congressional energy plans would hurt local companies like mine on two fronts: increasing the tax burden and limiting production.

Consider the offshore access issue. In contrast to a majority of Americans — even the majority of Obama voters — who support an increase in domestic offshore drilling, federal officials from the White House to the halls of Congress seem to be backpedaling on campaign promises to increase offshore energy exploration and production.

A recently released study by the American Energy Alliance found that tapping the oil and natural gas resources currently locked away in the outer continental shelf would create 1.2 million new jobs and contribute more than $8 trillion to U.S. gross domestic product. But by limiting responsible energy exploration in previously restricted areas off our coasts, lawmakers would thwart those promising benefits. Add additional tax burden on top of that, and you’ve got an economic one-two punch.

That’s right. Though plans to impose windfall profits taxes have temporarily been taken off the table, other federal energy proposals still support repealing a manufacturing tax credit for oil and gas companies. Arbitrarily singling out energy companies, these bills pose a fundamental problem. Since all Americans depend on traditional fuels for everything from running our cars to heating our homes, consumers are the ones who ultimately pay for new taxes.

Higher taxes on our energy industry also make it difficult for the U.S. to compete with global competitors, national oil companies in unstable regimes like Russia and Venezuela. The U.S. already imports 60 percent of its oil to meet our growing energy demands. Imposing new energy taxes on natural gas production would only make us less competitive, increasing that dubious reliance.

The ultimate effect of these legislative pitfalls would be an overall reduction in U.S. oil production. And smaller, supporting companies like mine and countless others nationwide would be the first to fall from this economic tourniquet.

On the other hand, by expanding offshore access and resisting the urge to penalize energy companies with unfair taxes, the 111th Congress and the Obama administration can stimulate investment in American industry, supply more work for local businesses, create jobs nationwide and secure a large part of our country’s energy future.

Even by Texas standards, that would deliver a big boost for small businesses.

Whitefield is president of Whitefield Plastics, a family-owned manufacturing business based in Houston.